The Preventable or Not scenario and video presented below are borrowed from Overdrive sister publication CCJ‘s Preventable or Not series.
SCENARIO: Trucker John Doe had completed a left-lane curbside delivery at a restaurant in downtown Atlanta. As he inched his way into morning rush-hour traffic, a double-parked delivery truck forced him to merge into the right lane, rather than gain speed in the left curbside lane.
A courteous four-wheeler operator had stopped in the right lane to allow Doe to enter it. So Doe, without checking his mirrors, attempted to merge right.
Suddenly, an impatient cab driver behind Doe in the left lane mashed the gas to try to maneuver around Doe’s rig. The two vehicles collided, prompting Doe’s safety director to issue a preventable accident warning letter.
Doe contested. Who’s in the right?
VERDICT: Preventable. The National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee said Doe should have made better use of his mirrors and anticipated the cab driver’s impatient “squeeze play” attempt.
